Cushion-cover construction



Dec. 22, 19 5. 1,566,353

5. suEKFF CUSHION COVER CONSTRUCTION Filed July 24, ,1925

Patented Dec. 22, 1925.

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cusmon covse c ns'mavmoag I Application med iulj zi, 1925 Serial N6. 45,735.

adapted for use with resilient filling units such springsor cushioning material.

commonly made, ac'ushion cover consist sfo fpieoesoffabric, usually burlap, out and sewn together not only to form the bottom,top'an'd sidewalls, but a series of indiyidual cells or p ocketswithin the outer walls, and adapted to contain the resilient material unit's; The problem of making cushion covers is not merely one of structure, but it is one of the method of preparing the materiall li'or' sewing, and then' sewing the pieces together, so that the cushion 'can be loaded with resi'li'entfmateri'al' with the least amount 10f time andfllahorl V lniaboihpani n applicat th'e 18th' djayloif July, 1925, SerialNo' 44,415, I have, shown and described an improved construction of cushion cojver" andjmethod' of manufacturing thesame, including the.

use of SQTCELlld [combsP ori integral, strips of material u'sed} for forming certain side; walls of i individual compart ents." the present invention I provide an improved con truction wherein t1ie' combs them elves may: lo e ,'e zconomically manufactured and' corporated, in the completed, cover with greater facility and lesse eraung cos't, v The principal object of the present imam tion" is'thrfor to pro ide a method\ of further reduoing." the labo'r cost' of cu's'hiori' construction, attention beingljcalled. to the net that in the present highly competitive state" of the cushion industry, a'njunprofitfl ablebusines's mayibeeqme profitableby an apparently inconsequential sai ing in the item o'filabor' or material' costs. Thus, the elimination one step] or thefm ngufaet r-. ing'pr'oces's, or the completion or'twq steps ina single operation, or a more'elficie'nt' treatmentof the material'in preparation; for assembling, wouldbe impofrtfant to the man: ufaeturer in meeting competition.

' Ofsuch anature is the present invention,

and its applicability to the art will be better appreciated as the process is disclosed with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure l is a perspective iew showinga p'ortion'of the material forming one of the covers, said material being marked oit' for subsequent sewing of partition strips along predetermined lines;

g Figure 2 is a similar View of the piece slijon' nin Figure 1' but illustrating the arrangement of two sets of combs and a partition' strip as applied thereto .to form a'base;

Figure 3 is a detailed View in vertical section of the completely assembled cu'shi'on taken on line 3 '3 of Figure 2; V

Figure 4 is a View similar to Figure 3, but taken at right angles thereto;

Figure" 5' is detailed View illustrating the method of manufacturing the combs before sewing into the structure.

'Reg'arding firsti the structure of. the cushion as a whole, 'a'po rtionof which is shown in F igurefs 3 and gthe same consists of top and bottom pieces 1 and 2 of suitable fabric, such as" burlap, sewn together at the a seam 3 extending around the cushionbetweenl the top and bottom, thereof, the marginal portions of these pieces forming a boxing" or end and sidewalls of th'elcushionn l WVithin'the outercoveringformed by the pieces ,1 and]: 2 are a series of continuous partition strips 4 extending the full length 1 (or width of the cushion with thelongitudin'al edges sewn tojthe top and bottom c coy'er' pieces. Thesei partition strips are pfarallel'with each other and divide the interior space of the cushion into a plurality of full length compartments.

In connection with the compartments formed between the partition strips 43 and the outer of said strips and the parallel en'd (or-side walls of the cover) are provided a plurality of division walls 5 which divide the cushion into plurality of smaller compartments orcell's Each set of: ali'ned walls 5,is made from a: single comb or strip of material, indicated generally by' numeral 7, shownin Figure 2; The various steps taken'in constructing the complete cushion cover will now be described.

I The first'st'ep in the process of manufacture is to provide a minor similar top and bottom pieces 1 and 2, having sewing lines 1010 arranged at right angles to each other to outline the size of the compartments or cells of the completed cushion. I also provide a plurality of combs 7, each consisting of a strip cut from a single piece of material and having a series of notches or cuts 5 formed therein and extending almost to the base 7 to form the tabs 5 which subsequently form individual division walls 5, as will hereinafter appear. The base 7 is of suflicient width to permit the comb to be secured to the cover 2 along a seam 12 which follows a sewing line 10 along one dimension of the cover. A preferred method of manufacturing the combs 7 is shown in Figure 5, in which the single strip of material 8 is provided, being of a width substantially equal to the height of one set of tabs 5 plus the height of two bases 7. This strip is marked with two rows of sewing lines 1212 parallel to and adjacent each margin thereof and a second row of sewing lines 5 parallel to and spaced inwardly from the first named pair of sewing lines 1212. The strip is then out along transverse lines 8 and longitudinal lines 8 so as to form two sets of combs in which the width of each of the tabs 5 is the same as the notches 5 The cutting operation may be carried out in any suitable manner, as for instance by rotary cutting machines of a type well-known in the art, which may be readily adapted for the purpose. The continuous strips formed into combs, as described, are then cut into su1table lengths and secured to the cover 2 along sewing lines 12-12, previously marked on the base 7, close to the bottom margin of the notches 5" now formed therein. An entire series of strips or combs 7 are sewn in parallel relation along adjacent sewing lines 10 on the bottom cover piece 2 and thereafter a plurality of partition strips l are also secured to the cover 2 along seams l, these seams following transverse sewing lines 10 at right angles to the combs 7 and passing through the center of alined notches 5 5 as indicated in Figure 2. The partition strips 4, when in secured position, are substantially as high as the upper or free edges of tabs 5. l/Vith the cover 2, combs 7 and strips 4 all secured together, as described, top cover 1 is then applied thereto. The preferred method of applying and sewing the parts together is as follows:

Starting along one edge of the cushion, parallel with the partition strips 4, the cells or compartments are completed progressively in rows toward the opposite edge of the cushion, substantially in the following manner The first row of tabs 5 between the first partition strip a and the cushion edge are sewn to the top cover 1 along seam lines 5 it being understood that said cover 1 is marked off by sewing lines 1010 to serve as a guide for these sewing operations. The free upper edge of the first partition 4 is then sewn to the upper piece 1 along the seam l as shown in Figure 3, this sewing operation being continuous throughout the entire length of the partition 4 to complete the first row of compartments between the first partition ff and the adjacent end wall. The assembling operation is then continued by sewing the second row of tabs 5 adjacent the iirst partition strip to the top piece 1 and then the next or second partition strip is sewn to the top cover 1 to complete the second row of compartments. This operation is repeated until all the compartments are formed. One or more of the side and end walls may be closed or boxed along seams 3 at any time in the process, although of course the cushion is not finally closed or boxed along all sides until the individual compartments are loaded with suitable resilient material, as will hereinafter be described. lt will be observed that in the pre ferred form shown the strips 5 are positioned centrally between partition strips 4 and are only one-half the width of each compartment. I have found, however, that partition strips of such width are fully capable of performing the function of division walls for resilient material, especially in cases where the cushion is loaded with individual springs.

One of the principal advantages of the construction above described is the provision of the combs 7 and partitions 4 in such a manner that they may each be connected to the cover 2 in a single sewing operation, while the method of assembling the upper cover to combs 7 and partitions l may be readily accomplished with the seams open and exposed at all times for application to the stitching machine, and thus eliminating the danger of blocking or making seams so difficult of access by the stitching machine as to require special handling and extra labor during assembly. A further advantage is the saving in labor and material in the formation of the combs 7 from strips 8 in the manner described with the sewing lines 12 and 5 marked on the strip 8 before cutting so as to insure uniform height of the cushion when finally completed. A still further advantage is that the sides of the strips 5 are loosethat is to say they are not joined along their side margins to partitions 4 but are spaced considerably therefrom, so as to promote ready ventilation of the cushion, and also to permit a flexibility that is essential to rapid and convenient loading of the cushion with resilient material.

The cushion described is particularly adapted for use with resilient springs com prising helical coils of wire, which springs may be inserted through the loose side of each row of compartments. As a preferred method of loading the cushion with springs, an implement known as a loading tool is used in which a number of springs equivalent to the number constituting a single row, are held flatly compressed within the tool. The tool is then inserted into the open end of the cushion and along one side of each longitudinal compartment formed between successive partition strips 4, the tool being held so that the flattened springs pass through the openings between the partition strips and the adjacent edges of the tabs. It will be understood, however, that a cushion cover constructed in accordance with my invention may also be loaded with other resilient cushioning means.

As before explained, the process of assembling the cushion cover'from corresponding combs and transverse partitions 4 results in a marked saving of time, labor and material in the manufacture of the cover, eliminating the sewing of a multitude of short seams, each of Which may be a separate sewing operation.

I claim:

1. A cushion cover construction comprisfrom the free outer edge substantially down to said sewn edge, a plurality of partition strips arranged transversely of sald combs and sewn to said cover piece along lines passing through aligned cut portions of said combs, said combs and partition strips being substantially of equal height and each sewn along its outer edge directly to the opposite cover to form a continuous strip connecting said covers together.

2. In a cushion cover construction, a top. and bottom cover piece, and means connecting said cover pieces together to form cells including a plurality of combs arranged in parallel lines, said combs each consisting of a single piece of material having a base and a plurality of tabs extending therefrom, said tabs being separated from each other a distance substantially equal to their own width. Signed at Chicago this 17th day of July 1925.

SAMUEL SUEKOFF. 

